ASKING QUESTIONS

Instructor: M.A, Tran Thi Truc Duyen

I. Importance of asking questions:
- To check students 'understanding.
- To give students practice
- To find out what students really think or know
II. Question types:
1. Yes/No questions
- Useful for checking comprehension
- Easiest to answer
Not require students to produce new language
2. Or questions
- Called alternative questions
- The reply is usually a word or phrase from the question itself.
Not require students to produce new language
3. WH-questions
- Give short answer naturally.
- Give information from students.
Require students to produce new language
a. Questions with short answer:
- To check the students understand a new word or phrase.
- More natural.
b. Questions with long answer:
Asking a question and insist on a long answer
T: Answer with a complete sentence.
What time do you get up?
S: I get up at seven oclock
- Practise language effectively.
- But forcing ss to answer an unnatural way.
Unlike real English.
 Asking more general questions lead to a long
answer naturally.
T: What do you do in the morning?
S: Well, I get up at seven oclock , then have
breakfast.
- Much less artificial
- More like language spoken in real life
Instead of asking a complete question, give a
short prompt
T:Tell me about your day.
S: Well, I get up early, then ...
- Easier and more effectively way of getting
students to produce language than asking a
III. Questioning strategies:
1. The teacher asks questions and simply lets
students call out answer. If ss call out different
answers at the same time, the teacher choose one
student to give the answer again.

With a large class, 1 can be effective for

simple questions with Yes/No questions. Otherwise,
it is too noisy and uncontrolled.
2. The teacher asks a question then pause to give the whole
class a chance to think of the answer. Then the teacher
chooses one student to answer. Ss are not allowed to call out
the answer or to raise their hands.
Keep class involved but still under control. It enables
the teacher to give a chance to weaker students as well as
more confident ones. If the questions are too difficult, it may
make students feel threatened. In general, it is good strategy
for routine,
3. First, the teacher chooses a student, and then asks
the student a question. If the student can not
answer it, the teacher pauses it on to the next
student.

highly controlled, but is not good way of

keeping the attention of the class. In general, it is
better to ask the question first and then choose who
is to answer it.
4. The teacher asks a question and lets students
raise their hands if they think they know the
answer. The teacher choose one of the students
with their hands raised to answer.

Encourages bright students make the class

seem to be successful because students are
volunteering answers. However, the class is
dominated by the best students while weaker and
shy students tend to be excluded.
 Thanks for
your kind attention!
Using the board
I.The board as the most useful visual aids in teaching:
- The board is available in the classroom.
- The board helps the teacher make things clearer to the class.
- The board helps focus the students attention to the lesson.
- The board helps the teacher much in presenting new words,
structures, giving a model for handwriting.
II. Some basic principles that helps teacher write
effectively on the board:
- The words/ sentences should be written clearly; and they
should be large enough so that the students at the back of the
class can read them easily.
- The writing should be written in a straight line (only across
a section of the board).
- Teacher s should stand appropriately so that they do not
hide the board and can also see the students; and the students
can see what is written on the board
Ex: standing sideways, half facing the board and half facing the class,
with their arm fully extended.
- It is necessary for the teachers to talk as they write on the
board so as to get the students involve in their teaching.
III.The use of the board and board drawings:
Teachers should divide the board into three sections: a larger
central area and two smaller side panels.
- A larger central section is use to present the main content of
the lesson. This section may be cleaned if necessary.
- One left side section is used for new words and phrases, and is
not clean during the section.
- One right side section is used for doodles, drawings,
unexpected odds, etc. and may be cleaned.
 Some general points about board drawings teachers
should bear in mind:
- The board drawings include simple drawing of faces, stick
figures, places, vehicles.
- Simple pictures drawn on the board can help increase the
interest of a lesson, be a good way of showing meaning
and conveying situation to the class.
- A lot of information can be conveyed by means of simple
line drawings.
- Using board drawing helps teachers keep the interest of the
class, get the students more involved in their teaching.

- (see Doff, Teach English, p. 43)

 USING WORKSHEETS

Instructor: M.A, Tran Thi Truc Duyen

I. The importance of using worksheets:
- The textbook may not give enough practice, so teachers
feel necessary to add exercises or extra-exercises.
- The exercises in the textbook may not be very interesting
or may be unsuitable for the class, so teachers may wish to
adapt exercises to make them suit the needs of the class
better.
- Teachers may need to create special exercises because
they want to organize the class in a particular way.
- The teachers may use worksheets simply for variety, to
make a change from the textbook and to give the students
something different to look at.
- Worksheets will be the main material which is used in the
class if there are not enough the textbook for all students.
II. Using worksheets for language skills:
1. Speaking and listening practice:
- Encourage students to work in pairs; their attention is
focused on the activity, not on the teacher or the rest of the
class.
- Save time in the lesson.
- Give out a worksheet make a change of activity.
To be used successfully for oral practice, worksheet must:
- Provide enough pra`ctice.
- Be useful as an extension to the practice in the textbook,
or for review.
- Have very simple instruction.
Example for oral exercises: p.249 & p.250
 Making worksheet for oral practice:
- Give further oral practice of a language point.
- Review language which has been taught earlier.
- Should be clear, simple and attractive to look at.
- Instruction should either be in very simple English, or in
students own language.
- Each worksheet should be provided at least a few minutes
activity.
2. Reading and writing skills:
- The simplest way to use worksheets is to make enough
copies of each worksheet for every student. All students do
the activity at the same time, working individually or in pairs.
- Different worksheets with several copies. Different
students can use different worksheets in the same lesson.
- Let students write on a separate sheet of paper, not on the
worksheet itself.
- Its important that worksheets should be simple and fairly
controlled. Students do not make many mistakes.
- Instructions should be clear and easy to understand.
Making worksheets for reading and writing: p. 254